Freedom of Speech for Christians in London (1)

David Kurten: In answer to my live question to you on 21 March you were not able to give a definitive answer about what guidance is available to police in how they treat street preachers in London, after the arrest and de-arrest of Pastor Oluwole Olusamni. What guidance do police officers receive, and how will you ensure that there is no re-occurrence of the manner in which Pastor Olu was treated?

The Mayor: In response to your oral Mayor’s Question regarding the arrest of Christian street preacher Oluwole Olesanmi and freedom of speech, police officers take freedom of speech incredibly seriously and understand that this right must be protected at all times. Christian street preachers, like other preachers have the right to freedom of speech, however if their speech or behaviour are believed to hurt or intimidate others then police officers must investigate allegations of this nature.
Police officers receive guidance on the powers that are available to them if there is likely to be a breach of the peace, taught to consider a variety of legislation for any decision that is made and act responsibly with regards to street preachers. The Metropolitan Police Service will consider the learning that arises from this case.

Concern Hubs trial and data protection

Sian Berry: In a WIRED article on 2 April 2019, it was reported that a: "new system called the Concern Hub, headed by a central team at Scotland Yard that will liaise the Met and hubs in each of Greater London’s 32 boroughs, has already been undergoing an unpublicised trial in the capital." A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Service was quoted, describing it as: "a new multi-agency diversion initiative” set to launch in south-east London in April, with a wider rollout across the city in the coming months, and saying that the aim is: “to safeguard young people at significant risk of becoming involved in violence, drugs, or gang activity.”
Is this report and quotes accurate? If so, in which boroughs has this new system already been trialled, which boroughs will be involved in the initial rollout, and what consultation has occurred between the Metropolitan Police Service, community representatives and the Information Commissioner's Office to avoid the discrimination, legal concerns and data protection issues that occurred with the Gangs Matrix?

The Mayor: The Concern Hub is a multi-agency diversion initiative, not a replacement for the MPS’ Gangs Matrix or the Gangs Matrix in another name. The Met, in collaboration with Lewisham Council, is developing a new multi-agency diversion initiative called The Concern Hub. This pilot aims to safeguard young people at significant risk of becoming involved in violence, drugs, or gang activity. This is not being trialled in any other borough at present.
This model will bring together cohorts of young people involved in serious youth violence. Individuals identified as being at risk will be provided support and pathways away from violence. Unless exceptional circumstances apply, individuals offered support through the hub will be informed why they have been identified. The MPS has briefed the Information Commissioner’s Office on the work of the Concern Hub, and facilitated a visit on 19 February.

Live Facial Recognition (6)

Caroline Pidgeon: Does the Live Facial Recognition (LFR) watchlist include enrolled images of children?

The Mayor: All watch lists have been deleted as per policy, so the information is not available.

Violent crime funding

Andrew Boff: You have numerous funding pots and streams to fund initiatives/programmes to tackle violent crime. Please list them all and provide the purpose of each one, details of the duration of each, total budget of each and the total amount of money spent so far of each one?

The Mayor: As Mayor, I am determined to lead from the front and do everything in my power to tackle violent crime in London. That means supporting the Met Police in their relentless focus on arresting violent offenders and investing in projects and programmes that are tackling the root causes of crime. My Office for Policing and Crime allocate significant spend through Grants and commercial contracts to tackle violence and support victims of violence. In order to provide full transparency of this spend please see the links below:
2018/2019 MOPAC Quarter 4 Performance Report – specifically slide 53 Commissioning spend
https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/mopac_quarterly_performance_update_report_q4.pdf
Further information related to individual Grants and Commercial Contracts spend for the period ending March 2019 can be reviewed through the Contracts Register https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/contracts_register_2018-19.pdf

Stop and Search

Peter Whittle: Given the dramatic increase in the Metropolitan Police’s use of stop and search over the last year, has this slowed down or reversed the number of knife crimes occurring in the Metropolitan Police District?

The Mayor: The MPS has seen an increase in intelligence-led Stop and Search in response to significant increases in serious violent crime.
The effectiveness of stop and search is not only about what illegal items were found, but also about whether any incidents or further violence took place, whether individuals were discouraged from carrying weapons or entering the area and how safe the community felt.
During quarter four of 2018/19, gun crime has decreased by- 6.8 per centcompared to quarter four of last year. During the same period, overall knife crime remained stable compared to the previous year. In addition, the same quarter saw an 11.6 per centreduction in knife crime with injury (victims aged under 25), when compared to the same quarter in the previous year which equated to 60 fewer victims.
The Deputy Commissioner informed the Police and Crime Committee that due tothe use of stop and search, we are seeing a greater awareness among people who might be likely to carry knives, that they might be stopped and searched and therefore, it is hoped that they would leave the knife at home and stop carrying knives.

Mobile fingerprint scanners (1)

Sian Berry: In August 2018, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) announced that 600 portable fingerprint biometric devices would be rolled out to frontline officers. Since then, a) how many devices have been issued to officers, and b) how many fingerprint scans have been carried out in each month?

The Mayor: To date, there have been 528 mobile biometric devices deployed to frontline officers. There are on average 2,500 searches completed every month in the MPS. Last month, the figure was 2,470.